Relays and, in particular, contactors are used mainly for switching high and maximum electrical loads. Such switches preferably comprise contact cavities, for which high requirements are placed with respect to possible operating temperatures, permitted internal pressures, the electrical insulating capacity, and the are load stability. Switching arcs occur in a relay when the current is interrupted. These switching arcs must be interrupted, in order to safely interrupt the current flow and counteract a destruction of the component.
Magnetic blowouts are frequently utilized for quenching the arcs. A magnetic blowout is a permanent magnet or an electromagnet which is used for deflecting the switching are between the contacts of the relay by means of the Lorentz force acting on the arcs and, as a result, lengthening the switching arcs and, therefore, more rapidly quenching the arcs.